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The Leisure and Cultural Services Department presents the Sadao Watanabe Group as the third concert of this year's "Jazz Up" series to be held in late November.
Sadao Watanabe, the Japanese jazz icon, visited Hong Kong with a full-house performance in 2001. Apart from Sadao himself, this time his group will include Akira Onozuka on piano and keyboards, Jun Kajiwara on electric guitar, Kiichiro Komobuchi on electric bass, Masaharu Ishikawa on drums and N'diasse Niang on percussion.
At the coming concert, Sadao Watanabe and his band will bring local audience an extraordinary evening of jazz music which blends musical elements from places as far afield as Brazil and Africa.
Sweeping through the music scene for more than 50 years with a style that transcends the boundaries of jazz, saxophonist Sadao Watanabe has long been regarded as a jazz icon in Japan and continues to enchant new fans with his original compositions. Watanabe formed his own band in 1965 and played a major role in creating the "Bossa Nova" boom in Japan in the 60s. His appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1968 marked the beginning of his appearances on the international music stage. Over the years, apart from his successful international tours, he has made numerous recordings to critical acclaim. A number of albums have been ranked number one on the United States Jazz Chart for four consecutive weeks. Many honours and prizes had been showered on him, such as the prestigious Japanese national order, "The Order of Rising Sun", in 2005. As the executive producer of the 2005 World Expo in Japan, he organised a cluster of events under the umbrella titled "Share the World," in which he promoted the message of world peace.
The concert will be at 8pm on November 26 (Wednesday) at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $400, $300, $220 and $150 will be available at URBTIX outlets from October 15 onwards. Half-price concessions will be granted to senior citizens aged 60 or over, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. (Limited tickets for students and CSSA recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis.)
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations call 2734 9009. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999. Visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp for more information on the programme.
Ends/Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Issued at HKT 10:03
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